I found this an interesting topic. Like Gabbert, most people believed why the hell this franchise was willing to give him year after year and chance after chance to prove himself when everyone else in the world knew he wasn't worth it. Are we doing the same with Bortles? Are the Jags just hellbent in their ways to hope something works out that it's hindering the rest of the team?
You can say this or that about Bortles potential in comparison but this article from the Ringer (found on Reddit) makes our front office look delusional for not even bringing in competition:
https://theringer.com/jacksonville-jagua...2ffda20c93
It just makes you think. I mean does a guy who is a "franchise QB" spend every offseason to work on throwing a football correctly? Are we all just crazy for thinking there is a chance for Blake to be the guy? Is this Gabbert all over again? Can he lead us to a Super Bowl?
I'm gonna have to say yes. Bortles should have been benched at halftime against the Titans last season.
If at any point you say "it's a prove it year" for a QB...that tells you all you need to know about your QB.
Bortles is another Derek Anderson. He's a poor man's Byron Leftwich.
Yes this franchise takes too long on their QBs.
Bortles was coming off a 2015 season in which he set multiple franchise records, and his arrow was pointing up. He regressed last year, but I don't see how anyone can say the team waited too long to move on when you have very recent history that would support the opposite.
I don't care for the Gabbert comparison at all. Blake at least can feel and avoid pressure in the pocket, and he can see downfield. Gabbert couldn't do either.
Quote:I don't care for the Gabbert comparison at all. Blake at least can feel and avoid pressure in the pocket, and he can see downfield. Gabbert couldn't do either.
Bortles knows how to take a lick too. His mechanics are what they are, but he doesn't shriek before getting the pass off.
Quote:I don't care for the Gabbert comparison at all. Blake at least can feel and avoid pressure in the pocket, and he can see downfield. Gabbert couldn't do either.
I remember when we had Reggie Williams, fans would be like..."he's a great blocker in the run game"
With Bortles it's "he can see down field and take a lick"
No offense 02, your my boy..but just because Bortles can see downfield doesn't mean crap. That's just because he is tall and when he looks past the oline, he can see his receivers. And that's where it all stops.
He can't throw. Fans say Manning couldn't throw a spiral, but Bortles throws the ball sideways like a punt end-over-end.
He's easily a 4th or 5th round pick in a redraft.
He actually throws alot like Tebow. More so like Leftwich.
Quote:I remember when we had Reggie Williams, fans would be like..."he's a great blocker in the run game"
With Bortles it's "he can see down field and take a lick"
No offense 02, your my boy..but just because Bortles can see downfield doesn't mean crap. That's just because he is tall and when he looks past the oline, he can see his receivers. And that's where it all stops.
He can't throw. Fans say Manning couldn't throw a spiral, but Bortles throws the ball sideways like a punt end-over-end.
He's easily a 4th or 5th round pick in a redraft.
Hyperbole is strong with this one
Bortles, like the rest of this team, is someone whose "total is less than the sum of the parts." In his 4th season we'll get to finally see a player released from the shackles of Gusdom, and then we can make a decision on what he is or isn't.
And the opposite is true, they tried to move on from Brunell too soon and it's been downhill ever since.
Quote:Bortles, like the rest of this team, is someone whose "total is less than the sum of the parts." In his 4th season we'll get to finally see a player released from the shackles of Gusdom, and then we can make a decision on what he is or isn't.
And the opposite is true, they tried to move on from Brunell too soon and it's been downhill ever since.
When he threw for 4400 yards, he was under Bradley. So the blame can't be placed on anybody other than Bortles.
If we're being honest with ourselves, we already know what we got. A non-natural passer, who has a windup, and the football comes off his hand different everytime he throws the ball.
A strong running game game with Fournette will mask him this season. But Blake Bortles is not going to bring this city a Super Bowl.
This "franchise" completely started over very recently. New owner, new management, an array of staff changes and only one QB of any import that wasn't abandoned quickly. Bortles.
What previous regimes did with Garrard, Leftwich and Gabbert is completely irrelevant to what is currently taking place.
I feel very confident in saying most franchises that don't have a top tier QB in place would also be giving Bortles one more shot this season because finding a QB that you can win with is hard to do.
Would those other franchises all have passed on taking a mid-round QB in the 2017 draft? No. Some of them would have tried to place a plan B guy on the bench.
That's my only concern about the current version of our franchise. They aren't terribly pro-active in preparing a plan B at QB.
In addition, in the few pressers i've seen from Blake this offseason he does appear to have more confidence in the way he talks/acts. He knows this is it, his last chance so... lets see what kind of Blake we get.
Quote:When he threw for 4400 yards, he was under Bradley. So the blame can't be placed on anybody other than Bortles.
If we're being honest with ourselves, we already know what we got. A non-natural passer, who has a windup, and the football comes off his hand different everytime he throws the ball.
A strong running game game with Fournette will mask him this season. But Blake Bortles is not going to bring this city a Super Bowl.
I'm so not ready to say this, and I'm betting you weren't saying this after his 2015 season. Outside of his arm, Blake has all the intangibles you want out of a qb in the pocket, and outside the pocket he's not bad at running. Now I do think he'll lose his sense of feel for pressure when outside the pocket so that's where it gets a little tricky with some of the dumber decisions and turnovers, but that can be worked on either through Blake improving, or if he can't, by revising the scheme.
The problem with all of this is I had to say, "outside of his arm." Well, again, in 2015 he was throwing just fine. Granted his passes never had that perfect spiral opting for his patented wobble, and he never could throw a fade pass, but he's getting it down. Remember he's still somewhat raw as a passer so it's not out of the realm of possibility that he improves there. <strong>With a healthy arm and proper mechanics, I believe we'll start to see a much improved passer.
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<strong>The bottom line is...
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Get the arm fixed and Blake can definitely lead this team to a SB especially with all the other pieces in place. Again, that's something you could never say about Gabbert.
They should of brought in competiton. Now it's blake or die
Quote:They should of brought in competiton. Now it's blake or die
There really weren't many options that were going to be viable in the draft, and in free agency, you're trying to land someone else's cast-offs. The team is better off waiting for the 2018 draft if the goal is to actually upgrade the position long-term. Grabbing a QB this year just to satisfy the fans who want competition would have been somewhat foolish unless there was a clear upgrade. Knowing how Coughlin operates, if that player was on a roster somewhere, he would have pursued them. The fact that the tea didn't tells you what he thought of the options particularly in free agency.
It would have been pointless to "bring in competition" because teams don't have enough practice time to be able to even afford having a competition for a starting quality QB like Bortles.
Any team having a "competition" is essentially saying they have no QB or giving up on the idea of having a winning season.
They certainly waited too long on a coach. I'm still baffled as to how that bundle of ineptitude was able to hold on for so long.
Quote:There really weren't many options that were going to be viable in the draft, and in free agency, you're trying to land someone else's cast-offs. The team is better off waiting for the 2018 draft if the goal is to actually upgrade the position long-term. Grabbing a QB this year just to satisfy the fans who want competition would have been somewhat foolish unless there was a clear upgrade. Knowing how Coughlin operates, if that player was on a roster somewhere, he would have pursued them. The fact that the tea didn't tells you what he thought of the options particularly in free agency.
This.
And if Bortles struggles, then we might see Brandon Allen.